Sustainable Business Practices and Firm Competitiveness: A Conceptual Review of the Strategic Role of Green Compliance in Malaysia’s Electrical and Electronics Industry

ABSTRACT: The increasing adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies has transformed the way manufacturing organizations manage their supply chain operations, creating new opportunities for enhanced efficiency, collaboration, and competitiveness. In Malaysia, the metal industry serves as a critical contributor to industrial development and economic growth, yet it faces numerous challenges, including supply chain disruptions, rising operational costs, and intensified global competition. Digital Supply Chain Integration (DSCI) has emerged as a strategic approach that enables firms to improve information sharing, process coordination, and real-time decision-making across supply chain networks. However, despite substantial investments in digital technologies, the extent to which DSCI contributes to organizational performance remains a subject of ongoing debate in the literature. This conceptual review examines the relationship between DSCI and organizational performance, emphasizing the role of technological capability as a critical organizational mechanism. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capability Theory (DCT), the paper synthesizes existing studies to develop a conceptual framework that explains how technological capability facilitates the effective utilization of digital supply chain initiatives and enhances organizational outcomes. The review proposes that technological capability, encompassing technology infrastructure, digital competencies, technological knowledge, and innovation capability, mediates the relationship between DSCI and organizational performance. By focusing on the Malaysian metal industry, this paper contributes to the growing discourse on digital transformation in emerging economies and provides valuable insights for managers, policymakers, and researchers seeking to strengthen organizational competitiveness through digital supply chain integration. The paper concludes by identifying research gaps and proposing directions for future empirical investigations.

KEYWORDS : Digital Transformation, Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing Industry, Malaysian Metal Industry